Matthew James Taylor Matthew James Taylor

Art ›

Still Life (Drawings & Paintings)

Still life is a type of art that depicts inanimate objects, such as fruits, flowers, bottles, books, etc. These objects are arranged in a specific composition and are often depicted in realistic or detailed manner

"Ikea pig" Still life oil painting

Ikea pig
Artist
Matthew James Taylor
Medium
Oil on canvas
Date
18 Sep 2017

I painted this Ikea pig because my son loves them!

See more of my oil paintings.

"Watering-can" A black and white pointillism still life

Watering can (pointillism)
Artist
Matthew James Taylor
Medium
Black felt-tip pen on art paper
Date
11 Jul 2009
Time
About an hour

I sat in my backyard and drew the corner of the garden. I chose a pointillism style just for something different. It sure does take a lot of time to build up tone with little dots!

I paid close attention to the misalignment of the bricks and the resulting shadows and gaps between them - I think this really makes the picture interesting.

Rather than drawing everything I could see I let the image fade to white at the perimeter, this was very easy to do with the pointillism technique - I simply used fewer and fewer dots as I got close to the edge of the page.

"Pistachios" Larger than life gouache painting

Pistachios
Artist
Matthew James Taylor
Medium
Gouache on art paper
Date
13 Feb 2005
Time
1 hour

I was eating some pistachios and I noticed how beautiful they looked up close so I decided to do a painting of them.

I drew them in pencil first then painted over the top.

The hardest thing with this work was not eating them till I was finished! =)

"Fruit" Still life gouache painting

Fruit
Artist
Matthew James Taylor
Medium
Gouache on art paper
Date
12 Feb 2005
Time
30 minutes

The brushwork in this still life painting is quite rough but because the colors are reasonably accurate the image holds together quite well.

Unfortunately, the plate is noticably not perfectly round.

"My shoe" Charcoal still life drawing

My shoe
Artist
Matthew James Taylor
Medium
Charcoal, white charcoal on grey paper
Date
11 May 2004
Time
1 hour

I was looking for something to draw because I was bored and I saw my shoe! I love how the white really gives a shine to the black leather.

Matthew James Taylor

I've been creating art all my life and running this website since 1997! During this time I've found many amazing tools and services that I cannot live without.”
— Matthew James Taylor

I highly Recommend:

Canva

Canva — Best Graphic Design Software

Create professional graphics and social media imagery with an intuitive online interface.

Learn more

Squarespace

Squarespace — Best Website Hosting For Non-Developers

Easy-to-edit website templates, no coding needed. Full commerce and marketing features to run your business online.

Learn more

See more of my recommended design tools.

A charcoal portrait of Angela reading a book

Portraiture (Exploring Different Mediums, Styles & Techniques)

My standard life drawing equipment

Best Life Drawing Equipment (What to Bring to a Class)

Detail of a male model in white charcoal

White Charcoal Life Drawing On Toned Paper

My optical illusion mural

Optical Illusions (Artwork That Tricks The Eye)

Sepia ink life drawing

Ink Life Drawing (6 Experiments with Nibs & Brushes)

Logo design concept & colors

Logo Design Concepts, Branding & Colors

Vector portrait of Crystal the Doll

Vector Art (Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, Flash & Inkscape)

A close-up painting of pistachios with Gouche

Gouache Paintings (Still Life Illustrations)

A fractal tree made by recursive drawing

Create Fractals With This Amazing Recursive Drawing Tool

Watercolor illustration example

Watercolor Painting & Illustration

A selection of life drawings in different mediums

Best Life Drawing Mediums (Examples, Tips & Techniques)

A pencil drawing of a stand of trees

Trees (Drawings, Illustrations & Other Artwork)

Graphite Pencil Life Drawing

Graphite Pencil Life Drawing (Rendering & Sketch Examples)

A close-up of my Ikea pig oil painting

Oil Painting (Still Life & Landscapes)

A nice sharp pencil

The Art of Sharpening Pencils (Styles & Techniques)

Book illustration cover artwork

Book Cover Design & Book Illustrations

A charcoal life drawing of a female model

Charcoal Life Drawing (Examples On White & Toned Paper)

Black and white charcoal study of folded fabric

Drapery Drawing (Folded Fabric Studies in Charcoal & Pencil)

A fractal artwork of an owl in a tree

Fractal Art (Exploring Fractals & Art Based On Fractals)

A black ball-point pen doodle

Doodles, Little Drawings & Sketches

AI-generated art nouveau portrait

Art Nouveau (Drawings, Vector Illustrations & AI-Generated Art)

Chalk life drawing with Conté Crayon

Chalk Life Drawings (Conté Crayon Vs Chalk Pencil)

Web design Web design Architecture Architecture Life drawing Life drawing Art gallery Art gallery Synesthesia Synesthesia Comics Comics

About Contact Privacy

© 1994 — 2024 Matthew James Taylor